heat treating?'s

[imskippy]

does everyone use a forge or kiln to heat for the quench? can I get away with just heating in the flame of a torch? I have a propane torch or oxy/acetylene. I was thinking of building the one brick forge from the $50 knife shop.

[Lin Rhea]

I use my gas forge to heat for the quench. You may have to get used to the forge, lighting, etc. to be able to judge the temp correctly, but you can do it. Be sure to test the edge to see if it gets full hard. Run a file across the edge to see if it skates across it. If it slides across without cutting, it's hard enough.
   Proceed to the draw back (tempering)stage.
                               Lin

[Jeremy]

My first forge cost a grand total of $10 and it's still running.  Get yourself a kiln insulating brick and a propane plumbers torch and you're set to go.  It works great for heat treating, but isn't the best for forging work... unless you're working on 3 blades at once.

[uhdet]

I use a grill in a pinch. Buy some natural charcoal and pile it up. It burns hot enough to get 1095 up to temp and quench.